First Draft is Filed Away

Welcome to UHSA’s first draft league. Draft Night was a lot of fun, and if all goes well, we could see the draft as an annual thing done every Fall.

Team Rosters are set (as of now.....there have already been player transactions, and we’re sure there will be some more). Based on how the rosters are looking, as of Sunday before Week 1, here are our power rankings.

As we have no clue as to how all this will unfold, we have ranked the teams in order of Total Payroll (each players PPV). PPV is based on statistical numbers, therefore the more points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks a player has, the more value is assigned to them.

Rookies automatically start at 450k.

7. (Un-Named) (Keso Shands)

On paper, this might be the biggest team around from top to bottom. We expect this squad to be near the top in defense and rebounding. Due to several rookies on the team, their payroll is the lowest. They are headlined by front court monsters Malik Harris and Travis Matthews whom should pair well with the veteran sharp shooter Harlen Londrie as he makes his return to the league. Captain Keso isn’t so bad himself, as he can score and distribute with the best of them. They might not be #7 for long....

6. Hit Em’ Up

Headlined by rivals turned teammates Durrell Norman and Devin Moore, Paul Segreto’s Hit Em Up should have a great transition game. Joined by versatile swingman Jake Schifani, they should be fun to watch. The duo of Devin and Durrell could be dangerous if used correctly as both are great at getting in the lane and finishing.....Double DD? (Corny nickname alert). Chris Williams, Agustin Zurita, and Paul Segreto himself should make for great complimentary pieces on this squad.

5. Sicko Mode

Antuan Bootle and Sean Dockery were the top two picks for this squad. A great front court and perimeter pairing, as both can score at will. Couple their penetration with stellar perimeter players in Pat Fridley and Bryan Nicholson, and the unselfish play of Javi Barron, and this team might make some noise. Team captain Jorge Del Alamo might just be their best off-ball cutter....keep your heads up fellas.

4. #LOYALTY

Team captain Dee Jackson kept it friendly and rolled with players he knows and likes, (check the name, LOYALTY). We knew that un-selfish two-way players were going to be a priority for Dee in this draft, and he found three great ones in DaShun Dixon, Matt Kallead, and Raul Aguilar. Enter sharp shooting big man Kevin Benitez, and sharp shooting forward AP Padilla, and this team will make up for its lack of size with spacing, ball movement and team basketball. Draft night trade addition Sam Epps should boost the speed of the backcourt, and trade addition Josh Martin should boost....the bench.

3. Pain

The theme for the team names this season was “Rap Song Titles”. I’m sure PVGNE member Josh Linson thinks he’s clever....either way Pain will have the best shooting backcourt in the league with Josh Linson and Chris Molina hoisting from deep. Chris will assumably move off the ball, potentially freeing him up for more looks. We’re sure team captain Chris Cho will want to get in on the fun from downtown. Big man Joe Snyder adds a huge threat as he can score with his back to the basket, faced up, or from deep. Add in the Real Ones trio on your bench in Efren Rodriguez, Sean Evans and Devon Richards and you’ve got the “hard hat crew” to mix it up with as well.

2. Ether

Coming in at #2, Buckets N’ Disabi.....wait, no they’re a little different. With 5 of their 8 repre- senting the franchise that is BND, there should already be a bit of chemistry between them. Basically, the core of BND added high IQ point guard PJ Jones and high scoring wing DJ Dubois to their squad. With #1 pick Jayquan wreaking havoc down low, and a sizable stretch 4 in Gabe Taylor, the rest of the squad should have a lot of room to work. Team captain Dan Gilbert has been on record saying that he’s taking no less than 36 minutes a game. Have fun!

1. Bigger Than You

On paper and on payroll, this team looks like it could be an early favorite. With both Kingdom Come teammates Joe Jackson and Justin Brickman (who were co-Finals MVP’s several seasons ago) running the show, and GREAT complimentary pieces in Kai Johnson, Abram Gomez, and Aaron Villarreal, this team seems primed to lead the league in scoring. The bench mob of TJ Telfare and Wayne Dismuke should fit in seamlessly to an offense that looks to be about ball movement and deep 3’s. Great job Brian Byers.